Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-01-13
CALLERS ON LAWYERS.
THE PRECAUTIONS THAT ARE TAKEN
AGAINST BoRES AND CRANkS.
How Mistakes Are Sometimes Made.
People Who Are Hardest to Get Rid OF.
Troublesome Women Ciients-Desire
for Litigation.

People who visit the offices OF prominent
lawyers find that they are usually cooped
up in little dens of their own, and laby-
rlnthine passages and inquisitiye clerks
bar the way. Those who are known to
have important business with the firm
are readily admitted TO the inner cham
Der, but strangers are examined and cross
examined and their intentions thoroughly
sifted before they can gain access. This
exclusiveness is matter OF protection,
and while the incivility OF clerks and
middle men may be trying TO the temper OF
person having right In the Office, yet
such a course must he taken or the law
yers would have their hands full Of busi-
ness in which there was no money, and
be driven TO the verge OF suicide by bores.
"The reception room," said the chief
clerk of large law firm to a reporter,
"has many queer people in it at times.
There are SET of cranks of the most an-
noying kind who make the rounds Of the
leading law firms in the city. They are
born litiganls Some OF them have
money; the most of them have none.
Whenever a man comes into an Office for
the first time and unrolls an old map or
any other document with the yellow tinge
of age on il the guns are at once trained
on him. Mistakes are sometimes made.
IL does not always do to size up man
from appearances. My resignation was
asked once because sat down hard on
client who could sign'his check for mill
ion but looked like tramp. That's one
serious drawback; millionaires do not al
ways look like it.
HARD TO GET RID OF.
"The people who own half the city and
can prove il and those who are interested
! in inventions and patents are the hardest
/ TO get rid Of If they can get hold with
an eyelid they will never let go. They
have plausible stories al, and insist on see
/ ing the head Of the firm. Sometimes they
do get an audience, and as long as they
pass the outer gate he thinks they are
i all right and takes an interest in the busi-
/ ness. One smart fellow got us TO bring
| a suit for damages against well known
/ business man. Our client had dOcumen-
I tary proof that made splendid case and
would have stood in any court, but when
the case came to trial IL was shown that
the people and facts were drawn from
his own imagination and the case was
thrown out of court. Ii was the third
time he had fooled lawyer, but as he
paid for his fun no hearts were broken.
The women clients Of this kind are the
most troublesome. They insist un seeing
the head Of the firm without telling their
business to any one else To tell them u
little lie about his being ont is no good,
for they will sit the whole day, il neces-
sary, to test the statement. There are
three or four women who have money and
spend their time going the rounds Of the
prominent lawyers, trying to enlist them
in some imaginary suit. They will put
up a retainer il asked to, but woe be TO
the man who takes il. A trip to Europe
il The only means Of escape. They will
bring a suit on the slightest pretense, hut
usually there Is no ground for complaint.
The desire TO litigate seems Ia be over
puwering. One Of the women visits the
courts regularly, has picked up a good
knowledge of law and can ask questions
that would make the Oldest practitioner
scratch his head. Nearly all these pecul-
lar people are eccentric or mentally un-
sound and most of them really believe
that they have been injured aud are en-
titled To redress At one time there were
several fine looking women who sought 10
get an audience with first class lawyers MS
well as business men for blackmailing pur-
poses, and il is rule in some offices that
strange women are never seen by any
member OF the firm except when wit
nesses are present II is n peculiar thing
that women clients who have legitimate
business in court form violent nntipathy
against any one who is opposed 10 them
and do not hesitate to make known their
intense hatred by word and manner. ~
D NaVU Work Trthuna